Until a few years ago, the last time a Democrat held the 13th district congressional seat was in 1895.

In 2021, Illinois completed redistricting following the 2020 census, stretching the 13th district from Champaign-Urbana to the Metro East and creating a more Democratic-leaning seat.

Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski won the race easily in her two previous campaigns. She worked in the administrations of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and President Joe Biden before her first run for Congress. 

She now seeks a third term and is running against Jeff Wilson, a Republican member of the Champaign County Board. Budzinski sat down with Brian Mackey on the 21st Show’s  to discuss where she stands on current hot topics such as data center development in Illinois, immigration reform and why she is against Medicare For All.

Wilson also joined the program this week. 

Interview Highlights

On whether ICE should be reformed or abolished

“The training — there is no training for these officers. I mean, I completely agree that there should be a system-wide reform of what we’re looking at, but it doesn’t change, whatever you want to call it, we need immigration enforcement in this country. We need border security in this country, but we can do it in a way that is humane and is not ripping apart families, and it is ripping apart families right now.”

On Central Illinois’ tech hub designation

“I will say, in my first term in office, one of the things I was really most proud of was being a part of advocating within the Biden administration, which passed the CHIPS and Science Act, to win one of 12 tech hub designations. And that’s directly benefited Urbana-Champaign and the corridor between Decatur, Monticello, and Urbana-Champaign, which often, locally in Champaign-Urbana, is referred to as [IFAB]. It’s biomanufacturing and fermentation.

We are becoming national, international leaders in biomanufacturing and fermentation because the community put forward an incredible application. There were well over 600 applications to be considered for a tech hub designation. Out of that 600, we won one of 12, and it was a $51 million federal investment.”

On why she opposes a single-payer healthcare system

“I think more competition in the healthcare system actually makes for a better healthcare system but will also bring down costs … My concerns around Medicare for All is that looking at this administration alone, to say that a government-run program … would be held hostage to the political whims of any one White House, I mean the idea that Robert Kennedy Jr., who would be overseeing a single-payer healthcare system, if that were in place today, I think that’s terrifying.”

On data centers

“So I think a data center developer would have to come in and make the case that that development is not going to increase a single resident’s utility bill by $1. I think that’s really critical, that they be able to address that with transparency, and then there needs to be accountability for that once they’ve made that commitment.

There are also very real concerns around water consumption. I know some of them, from some data center developers, have been addressed through what they refer to as the closed-loop system, so they don’t have to continuously go back for fresh water — that it’s something that can be recycled — but that is a legitimate concern as well. There are additional legitimate concerns as it relates to the environment, as it relates to noise.

There are also opportunities. There are opportunities as it relates to increased taxes, tax investments in communities that might not otherwise see that level of investment, if a community decided for a data center to come in.”